4. Miley Cyrus' Vanity Fair photos

By Rebecca Winters KeeganMonday, Nov. 03, 2008

When the star of Disney Channel's Hannah Montana appeared wrapped in a bed sheet with her bare back exposed in the June issue of Vanity Fair, some parents of Cyrus' tween fans were outraged. A Disney spokesperson described the sexy photo spread as "a situation [that] was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines." The strong reaction to the image, taken by Annie Leibovitz, led Cyrus to release an apology, saying, "I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic' and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed. I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about." When asked in November about the Cyrus debacle, Leibovitz told TIME: "The Miley picture was a beautiful, strong, simple picture. I think it's actually sort of innocent on some level. She loved taking that picture, and she was ready to take that picture. It's just that her audience wasn't ready. I think that if there was any mistake made, it's probably that she shouldn't have posed for Vanity Fair."